It's you against the evil Mother Brain in the thrilling battle of Metroid! You're inside the fortress planet Zebes. The planet of endless secret passageways where the Metroid are multiplying. Left alone the Metroid are harmless. But in the wrong hands they could destroy the galaxy. It's up to you to prevent the Mother Brain that controls Zebes from using the Metroid for evil purposes. But that won't be easy. You'll have to use your spacesuit to absorb valuable energy for your search to gain the use of power items like the Ice Beam, Wave Beam, High Jump Boots and Varia. If you survive, it will be you and your acquired powers against the Mother Brain.
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Metroid back in the day was something else entirely. It was mysterious, the world felt huge, and finding all the power-ups gave this awesome sense of progression. That ending reveal blew my mind, too! Sure, the graphics are dated now, but the core gameplay holds up remarkably well if you're into that old-school challenge and exploration.
The online discourse for this game is baffling. If I'd listened to the current consensus, then I would have avoided all but a handful of NES games, because they're apparently unfun, dated junk.
I decided to give the original Metroid a shot anyway, and I'm floored. This game is spectacular. Some of the music tracks are among the best I've ever heard. The atmosphere is as thick as butter. The world is enormous and labyrinthian. I felt a sense of vertigo uncovering side passage after side passage in areas I'd previously explored, realizing the map was at least double the size than I'd previously thought.
People are playing this game wrong. Don't use a guide, just read the manual. Be frustrated, and learn the game. This isn't a walk in the park. This is an expedition to a hostile alien fortress.
Me rating this higher than Metroid Prime is due simply to personal taste, Metroid Prime is the technically better game by a long shot.
That said be patient and draw a map. It genuinely enhances the experience beyond anything you can imagine. A charming NES game worth anyone’s time.
That said be patient and draw a map. It genuinely enhances the experience beyond anything you can imagine. A charming NES game worth anyone’s time.
Very cool concept that just has aged horribly, I find it very hard to believe someone nowadays can beat this one without a guide/online map, everything just looks too identical. Atmosphere, music and graphics are on point and introducing Samus to the gaming landscape is worth praise alone but it's just a tough sell in 2024
Innovative and ambitious for it's time, just hard for me to go back to, awesome to see where it all started however
5/10
Innovative and ambitious for it's time, just hard for me to go back to, awesome to see where it all started however
5/10
thanks nintendo power
This adventure captures nostalgia with iconic boss battles but suffers from repetitive exploration. It’s a survival horror experience in disguise, lacking maps and resources, yet its cursed charm is undeniable. Though hindered by dated gameplay, its influence on the genre is unmistakable.